Two Pakistani Hindu businessmen shot dead in Sindh

Two Hindu brothers were today shot dead outside their grain shop by bike-borne robbers in Tharparkar district of Pakistan's Sindh province, triggering protests from the minority community.

The victims, identified as Dileep Kumar and Chandar Maheshwari were grain traders. They were opening their shop in the grain market in Mithi area of the district when the incident took place, a media reported.

According to police, in the first-ever robbery incident in the city, bike-borne dacoits tried to snatch the money from the brothers, but when they resisted, the robbers shot them.

Following the incident, traders shut their business in Hindu-dominated areas in the district in protest and people blocked main roads and staged sit-ins, leading to traffic jams.

Local people alleged that police reached late at the spot as most of the personnel have been deployed in Mirpurkhas for the security arrangement of a rally organised by the Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP), where former President Asif Ali Zardari is supposed to address, the report said.

Meanwhile, Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal directed the Senior Superintendent of Police of Umerkot to probe the killing.